Volvo plans to put 100 autonomous cars on Swedish roads by 2017

The Drive Me project will see self-driving Volvos on the streets of the Swedish city of Gothenburg

Volvo is definitely one of the leaders in the world of self-driving cars, having recently developed systems that allow vehicles to park themselves, avoid the formation of traffic jams, and travel safely together in "road trains." Now, the Swedish automaker has announced that it's going to be taking part in a project that will see 100 autonomous Volvos traveling the streets of Gothenburg within four years.

Slated to begin next year, the "Drive Me – Self-driving cars for sustainable mobility" pilot project is a collaboration between Volvo Car Group, the Swedish Transport Administration, the Swedish Transport Agency, Lindholmen Science Park and the City of Gothenburg. Its purpose is "to pinpoint the societal benefits of autonomous driving and position Sweden and Volvo Cars as leaders in the development of future mobility."

The cars, which should begin showing up in Gothenburg in 2017, will be traveling on about 50 km (31 miles) of selected roads. Those roads were chosen because they're representative of "typical commuter arteries," and include motorways, frequent queues, and opportunities for the cars to park themselves with no driver on board.

All of the cars will be developed using Volvo's Scalable Product Architecture. The first model to take part in the project will be the upcoming new version of the XC90.